Girl's World: Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls [Hardcover]

Jennifer Paganelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2011

Jennifer Paganelli designs one of the most popular fabric lines in the crafting marketplace. In Girl's World, her debut book, she presents twenty-one adorable sewing projects to make for little girlsfrilly dresses, ruffled pillows, bed canopies, stuffed animals, and more! Each project features Jennifer's fresh, feminine flair in sizes and styles perfect for toddlers to tweens. With step-by-step instructions, a comprehensive techniques section, and simple sizing charts ranging from extra-small to extra-large, this book is exceptionally easy to use. Featuring whimsical design, lush color photos, a ribbon closure, and a vellum pocket filled with pattern sheets, Girl's World makes sewing girly goodies a joy for crafters of all levels.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jennifer Paganelli is the creator of Sis Boom fabrics, which has over eight lines with Freespirit and a line with Sunbrella. Her work has been featured in national publications including Real Simple and Country Living. She lives in Wilton, Connecticut.

Tim Geaney has photographed for Vogue, Glamour, InStyle, J.Crew, Nordstrom, and Polo Ralph Lauren, among others. He lives in Wilton, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; Spi edition (April 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811874443
• ISBN-13: 978-0811874441
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly a Crafting book-Few Clothing Patterns, April 25, 2011

By 

J. Lemley "Amazon Addict" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Girl's World: Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls (Hardcover)

I received this book today and was immediately drawn to the bright hard cover tied with a pink bow. On first look through I love the envelope in the front for the patterns. Very convenient. The pictures and fabrics are all really bright and girly. There is a very comprehensive how-to section and all the projects seem to be beginner oriented. All of the directions have lots of visuals and nice step by step directions.

There are only 4 dress patterns, 2 apron patterns and 1 skirt pattern in sizes 2/3, 4/5, 6/7, 8/10, 12/14. The rest are accessories, toys and room decorations. So, if you are looking for a clothing sewing book for the little girl in your life you may want to check out some other books.

I can't fault the book for the lack of clothing patterns. It was more of a buyer error for not really looking at it before I bought it. The front of the book does say 21 sewing projects to make for little girls. I believed this to be a sewing book. The reason I am giving it 4 stars is because there are 4 completely no-sew projects and quite a few others that require very little sewing. This is mostly a crafting book - albeit a really fun one.

The projects are:

1. Mary's Sash Dress
2. Tallulah Halter Dress
3. Josie Dress
4. Agnes Tunic Dress
5. Sophie Glittered Apron
6. Georgia Tulle Ballet Skirt
7. Annabel Apron with Frilly Pocket
8. Hadley Headband
9. Penelope Ruffle-Top Purse
10. Chloe Paper Doll Overnight Bag
11. Girls' "Ambassador of Goodwill Badges
12. Fiona Fabric Flower Pin/Barrette
13. Bridget Banner with Pom-Poms
14. Gigi Ruffled Pillow
15. Willow Small Pillow with Pom-Poms
16. George the Puppy
17. Genevieve Patchwork Square Quilt
18. Olivia Floral Lamp Shade
19. Katie Eliza Canopy and Pinwheel Strands
20. Molly Patchwork Memory Board
21. Happy Birthday Banner

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sew4Home.com Review of Girl's World, May 10, 2011

By 

Sew4Home (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl's World: Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls (Hardcover)

In the dreamy world little girls inhabit, closets are bursting with beautiful, brightly colored dresses with ruffles and bows and always with skirts made for twirling. Jennifer Paganelli has captured this ambience, like summer lightning bugs in a jar, and served it back up with style in her new book, Girl's World. Jennifer is one of the most popular fabric designers on the market today. We love her bright and bold collections, and have used and recommended her fabrics here at Sew4Home. When we heard she was coming out with her first book of sewing projects, we were very interested to see her how her talent for design would translate into garments. We were impressed and inspired.

Girl's World is a collection of twenty-one sewing projects to make for little girls. It includes dresses, fashion accessories, home décor items, even a few projects that require no sewing at all. The simple styles make full use of Paganelli's bright and cheery fabric designs. The projects are elegant and intricate in their design, yet can be made by even a beginning seamstress.

The book itself is beautiful enough to sit on your coffee table. Tim Green's luminous photography captures the magical world of little girls skipping, dancing, and otherwise showing off their much-loved, newly-made dresses. Nine included patterns fit neatly into a pouch at the front of the book. And, in a nice touch, the brightly-colored hardcover volume can be tied shut with bright pink ribbons.

The book starts with Paganelli's sewing tips and a basic glossary. Beginners will want to read this for sure, but I think everyone will find it informative and appreciate her sharing some of her time-tested methods. For instance, she has some good tricks for putting on binding.

Paganelli's step-by-step instructions are clear and straight-forward. She begins each project with the list of essential notions and supplies (the minimum you'll need), and then has some added recommendations for those who may have everything on hand. By designing the dresses to include large rectangles of fabric, she has only had to include curved pieces (like a bodice) on the paper patterns. The sizes are straightforward, using standard measurements.

As I read through the projects, thinking about how I'd make the dresses, I found the sewing instructions to be logical and sensible. Where three dimensional instructions might get confusing, Paganelli has included simple diagrams to help clear things up. (Exactly the same method we use here at S4H with our step-by-step photos and diagrams.)

So what about the designs? We think the dresses in Girl's World are really cute! They capture the lively sweetness of little girls on a summer day. Of course, the little models are adorable, and Paganelli's fabric is hard to resist. Thinking back (okay... way back) to when I was a little girl, these outfits would totally have been in my wardrobe. But for an objective opinion, I knew I needed some help.

I consulted two experts on what little girls like to wear today: my nieces. Ages 9 and 11, they love 'girly-girl' fashion. When our families were together for Easter, I sat them down with the book, gave them a pad of sticky notes, and asked them to mark the dresses, accessories, and décor items they would like somebody to make for them.I might have saved time just having them mark what they didn't like.

They loved the book from the moment they looked at the cover. Quickly flipping past the sewing instructions, they went from dress to dress and accessory to accessory with happy "oohs" and "aaahs." They returned it me with sticky notes poking out in out in all directions like a haphazard fan.

Here are just a few highlights of what they liked best... FOR THE REST OF THE REVIEW AND LOTS OF PHOTOS: sew4home-dot-com.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars inspiring book, missing a few details, September 6, 2011

By 

Meleliza - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl's World: Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls (Hardcover)

I love sewing girly, girly things! And this book certainly indulges me. Girls' World by Jennifer Paganelli is full of inspiration. It only actually includes 4 dresses: 2 party dresses, 1 tunic style dress and 1 halter style. I like the first three, but - and call me old fashioned if you like - I'm not crazy about this sexy halter top on little girls. The other projects include home décor and crafty items, some of which are sweet and some of which are sort of basic. The patterns are included in a handy little envelope, but the paper is a bit fragile and you still have to piece them together a little. Spiral binding would have made it easier to read instructions. Final garment measurements are not given, nor are line drawings. And since the instructions are word heavy and lacking in diagrams, you need to just cross your fingers that it will work out in the end. Still, I didn't have much trouble figuring out the tunic dress. The real interest in the book is the lush and fanciful styling of all these projects. You might wish you were a "tween" yourself again!

I tried the Agnes tunic dress and loved the design. There were, however, a few small problems with the pattern. There is no instruction given for how to set the sleeves. I added a row of basting stitches at the top of the sleeve cap and pulled them up to ease the cap into the armhole. This is a simple enough fix, but only if you've set a few sleeves before. There are no finished measurements given, only a guideline for sizing, so be sure to measure the pattern pieces. You can see my pictures and more details of the actual sewing here: [...]